A company that plans to add 400 new homes in a North Suffolk residential development hopes the new rooftops will entice more major retailers to the area.

Suffolk recently approved plans for an additional 400 residences for Hampton Roads Crossing, swelling the development by two-thirds of its originally planned size, to 1,000 future residences, Terry-Peterson Companies Senior Vice President John Peterson III said.

“We had it approved about two weeks ago,” he said. “It’s an additional 400 units beyond the 600 that we already had for that site.”

The extra residential development, located off Hampton Roads Parkway near College Drive, could help the city present North Suffolk to retailers as an attractive proposition.

“The city wants to see more commercial development … (and the) revenue generated by the results,” Peterson said, adding the goal will only be achieved as more homes make North Suffolk a more attractive retail market.

“If you look at North Suffolk, there’s not a lot of land left for residential development,” he said. “We determined we could satisfy some of the residential demand by having another 400 units approved. There are plenty of retailers … that are not in North Suffolk. When they first look at a market, it’s demographics first.”

Target, Trader Joe’s, hhgregg and Barnes & Noble are just four of the major stores that have been cited as missing from North Suffolk’s retail landscape.

Of the previously planned 600 residences — a combination of for-sale single-family dwellings and rental apartments — 110 rental apartments have been completed and more are under construction, Peterson said.

“That’s moving along nicely — we’re selling them every day,” he added.

The final mix of the additional 400 residences will depend on future market conditions, he said. “We’ll react to the residential market as it evolves,” he said.

The extra residences are “more a long-term strategy” than a sign the area housing market is in recovery, according to Peterson.

“What we’re partially doing is making sure we have enough potential rooftops in the pipeline to satisfy the commercial projects,” he said.